Test Engineer (Actuators/Mechanical Systems)

Joby Aviation•Santa Cruz, CA

1d•$90,100 - $143,500

About The Position

Joby Aviation is seeking a highly organized, passionate individual to join its Testing Team. The Test Engineer performs validation and verification testing of flight-critical components and subsystems for VTOL electric aircraft. Test data informs hardware design efforts and supports the development of production-ready hardware. The role works across engineering teams to develop representative, thorough, and repeatable tests, analyze results, support hardware optimization, manage project status and resources, improve team productivity, and guide testing equipment investments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of experience, or an advanced degree with relevant university project experience, or equivalent work experience.
Experience with hardware testing in a laboratory environment.
Electromechanical or robotics experience, with familiarity in servo actuation concepts.
Experience performing verification and validation testing of mechanical and electromechanical systems.
Ability to perform hands-on testing, including setting up and executing tests with test hardware and data acquisition systems.
Proficiency in LabVIEW for data collection and DIAdem or MATLAB for data processing.
Experience with mechanical design, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), and manufacturing drawing creation.
Strong analytical background and excellent problem-solving, interpersonal, and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with industrial test laboratory environments and procedures.
Experience with high-voltage systems.
Project management experience.
Experience with Dassault Systèmes CATIA, specifically Generative Shape Design, Part Design, and Assembly Design.
Hands-on machine shop skills using a lathe, mill, welder, and other fabrication equipment.
Aircraft homebuilding or rapid prototyping experience.
Familiarity with aircraft FAA certification processes.

Responsibilities

Create test setups for validation and verification of aircraft hardware, and mentor others in creating them.
Work with the Airframe and Actuators, Propulsion and Avionics, and Software teams to understand component details, system architectures, and operating conditions and build representative tests.
Develop formal test plans, test procedures, instrumentation plans, test stand and fixture designs, data acquisition architectures, and tools for thorough and repeatable testing.
Analyze test data and prepare reports that provide engineering teams with quantifiable feedback for hardware optimization.
Manage Testing Team project status and timelines, and collaborate with Team Leads on resource allocation to de-risk critical paths.
Create and implement tools to maximize Testing Team productivity.
Manage the Testing Team’s hardware needs and recommend investments.